The present invention relates to a mounting bracket for use with an archery bow to accommodate the attachment and/or support of a sighting device, and, more particularly, to a mounting bracket and support arm assembly for the deployment and securement of a sighting device used in conjunction with an archery bow.
Sighting devices, or bow-sights, are commonly used with archery bows in tournament shooting or bow hunting. They are generally attached to an archery bow to provide a guide to the archer for proper elevation of the bow in order to achieve an accurate sighting and targeting of an object over a predetermined range of distances.
Examples of the most recent bow-sights may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,757,614 and 5,072,716. The bow-sights illustrated therein are positioned forward of the bow and generally comprise a plurality of sighting pins that are arranged in such a fashion so as to permit their alignment with corresponding yardage distances from the bow. By calibrating the vertical position of a given pin on the bow-sight with a corresponding distance that the arrow is shot, an accurate trajectory for the arrow, as well as a hitting of the target, can be achieved when the pin is aligned with the target by the archer. Accordingly, any movement of the pin(s) will affect the distance that an arrow will travel, assuming the archer is properly aligning the respective pin with a given target.
The bow-sights in the aforestated patents are generally mounted to the bow structure by a combination of a mount and a support arm. There are usually a plurality of them, arranged in series, which permit movement of the bow-sight in different directions forward of the bow. Thus, forward lateral movement of the sight, relative to the bow, is accomplished by means of a singular mount fixed to the side of the bow structure. The mount is adapted to receive a first slidable support arm to permit movement of the bow-sight forward of the bow. Vertical or cross-lateral movement of the sight is generally accomplished by means of a second singular mount fixed to the end of the first slidable support arm and adapted to receive a second support arm to which the bow-sight is usually attached. These mount-and-support-arm combinations have generally proven to be troublesome, primarily because of the inadequate securement of the support arm on the mount plate or bracket.
More specifically, and as illustrated in the foregoing patents, the support mount is a one-piece construction that is rigidly fastened directly to the bow handle. A dovetail slot is contained within the mount to slidably receive a support arm having a corresponding dovetail cross-section. The support arm has a plurality of longitudinally-spaced apertures that are threaded to receive a screw for securing the arm within the dovetail slot of the mount. This design has proven to be inadequate for supporting a sighting device, because the screw is threaded only onto the support arm, not the mount. Securement of the support arm member within the dovetail slot is achieved by turning the end of the screw against the support arm.
Accuracy of the bow-sight, therefore, depends in large part not only on the calibration of sight marks, such as crosshair sights, telescopes or pins to a corresponding distance, but also on the efficacy of the bow-sight's securement to the bow. With regard to the latter feature, any movement of the bow-sight in a vertical, lateral or horizontal direction will cause the accuracy of the arrow's trajectory to be compromised. This can obviously mean the difference between the arrow's hitting or missing the target. Such a movement of the bow-sight (and the subsequent deviation of the sighting pin's calibration) is usually the result of a support arm becoming loosened from its dovetail mount. Typically, misalignment is caused by repetitious use, jostling of the bow during transport, and/or inadequate securement of the bow-sight to the bow. After a disconnection, the subsequent reattachment of the bow-sight to a respective support arm will not usually be adequate; such an act will usually afford neither a constant fixing of the support arms nor a constant, reproducible sighting.
The aforestated deficiencies and problems inherent to dovetail mounts and support arms may be overcome by the present invention. This invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art based on the following summary and the description of the preferred embodiment.